1. Field of The Invention
The invention relates to electrical connectors, especially to connectors each having separate improved mounting devices.
2. The Prior Art
As shown FIG. 1, the prior art connector 1 includes an insulative housing 10 having a forward projecting section 11 in the front portion with a central opening 12 therein for receiving a complementary connector (not shown). The housing 10 further includes two rows of passageways 14 communicatively positioned adjacent to the opening 12 for receiving a plurality of corresponding contacts 16 therein wherein such contacts 16 project into the opening 12 for engagement with the corresponding contacts of the complementary connector. A spacer plate 18 is disposed in the rear portion of the housing 10 for aligning the tails of the contacts 16 in the vertical direction. A metal shield 20 attached to the front portion of the housing 10, includes a base section 22 adapted to cover the front surface 13 of the housing 10, and a tubular section 24 adapted to cover the projecting section 11 of the housing 10 wherein two pair of right angle mounting legs 26 integrally extend from the bottom edge thereof adjacent two ends of the base section 22, so that such pairs of mounting legs 26 positioned approximate the undersurface 28 of the housing 10, may extend downward for securement with the board on which the housing 10 is mounted. A pair of latches 30 each generally formed of a tag-like plate 32 with a hook 34 at the end, are inserted into the housing 10 from the front through the apertures 36 in the shield 20 and into the cavities 38 wherein such pair of cavities 38 are positioned with a corresponding pair of vertical walls 40 (only one shown) extending rearward from the back surface 42 of housing 10 and generally between the central opening 12 and the outermost ends of the housing 10 in the lengthwise direction.
The conventional connector has disadvantages as follows. First, the mounting legs 26 extend integrally from the base section 22 of the shield 20. Because the shield 20 is formed by stamping from a metal sheet, the shield 20 with its integral mounting legs 26 which has a large dimension when it is in an initial extended unformed manner, wastes too much material for the raw metal sheet. Secondly, the tubular section 24 of the shield 20 is formed by drawing method so that the property of the shield is not expected to be too stiff to be drawn, but the characteristic of the mounting legs is desired to own enough stiffness for securement consideration on the board. Therefore, there is a contradiction to select the material of such integral shield and mounting legs, thus sacrificing the performance and the manufacturing of either part (i.e., the shield itself or the mounting leg). Third, there is no proper fixation means for use with the mounting legs with regard to the housing 10 so that the mounting leg 26 may be tilted by external impact during shipping or handling, thus increasing defective.
Additionally, the latch 30 is forcibly inserted into the cavity 38 in the vertical wall 40 of the housing 10 and retained therein by means of the lateral projecting tangs 39 engaging the housing 10. Referring to FIG. 1(A), because the vertical wall 40 does substantially extend integrally with the main body 15 of the housing 10 in the lengthwise direction thereof, it is stiff around the portions which define the cavity 38. Understandably, sometimes the latch 30 may not be so accurately inserted into the cavity 38 in a vertical state, and thus such tilting insertion of the latch 30 may jeopardize the structure of the housing 10 around such cavity 38 because the latch 30 is made of a great strength material and the housing portions surrounding the cavity 38 does not provide any buffer means to compromise such misaligned insertion of the latch 30. The damaged structure of the cavity 30 may hurt its original retention function to the latch 30.
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a connector having an improved mounting leg and latch mechanism wherein the mounting leg has a good character and proper retention and saves the raw material in manufacturing, and the latch incorporates a buffer structure in the housing for allowing somewhat tilting insertion of the latch during assembling.